February 12, 2026

Thank you to everyone who took part in our Volunteering for Health project research from October to December last year on the state of volunteering in Cumbria. It was a really valuable piece of work and we were really pleased that so many people engaged with us and gave their views.

148 volunteers and 80 people who work with volunteers responded to our two surveys from across Cumbria.

We also ran 3 workshops in Barrow, Kendal and Penrith with a total of 32 people attending.

Key findings from our surveys

Who responded

Our volunteer survey revealed that the largest number of respondents were retired, although many were employed, showing volunteering already spans different life stages. Almost all respondents had volunteered before, and the vast majority were current volunteers, indicating that the survey primarily reflects the views of those already engaged.

Pressure and capacity are major challenges

Volunteers and those who work with volunteers highlighted feeling overwhelmed, with the most common issues relating to managing workload and priorities, recruiting the right people into the right opportunities, and access to funding to support volunteer activity.

Practical guidance is highly valued

Tools and guidance were identified as the most useful forms of free support, followed by peer networks, workshops, and training. There is a clear demand for practical, shared learning rather than high-level messaging.

Volunteering needs to reach wider audiences

Improved promotion of volunteering and greater engagement with under-represented groups emerged as the top opportunities for growth. This suggests volunteering could benefit from being promoted more intentionally to different communities.

Understanding non-participation is a gap

Because responses mainly came from current or past volunteers, there is limited insight into why potential volunteers are not getting involved. This is an important area for future exploration.

Why people stop volunteering

The most common reason given was lack of time due to work or family commitments. Other reasons included wanting to focus on different priorities or not finding roles fulfilling. A large number selected “other,” indicating additional factors not yet fully understood.

How people find volunteering opportunities

Word of mouth and community groups remain the most common ways people discover volunteering. However, respondents identified having a website as the most important requirement for finding opportunities in the future. Is this a disconnect between how we do things and how we think others might do things?

Joining is generally straightforward

Applying and induction were widely viewed as easier processes from a volunteer perspective, contrasting with perceptions held by volunteer managers that it was hard to recruit and induct volunteers.

Local stories matter

Most respondents said they had not been inspired by national volunteering campaigns. Despite this, increased promotion was still seen as key to encouraging participation — particularly promotion that is local, relevant, and targeted rather than national in scale.

What we will do next

Our plan is to do some more research to understand some things further and also to test some ideas with our communities.

Look out for more ways to get involved in the coming months!